BOBSLEDDING
Heft, Bauman win at Cup
Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann of Switzerland won a World Cup bobsled race in Winterberg, Germany, on Friday, ending US pilot Steven Holcomb’s seven-race winning streak to start the season. Hefti and Baumann finished the two runs in 1 minute, 52.68 seconds. Alexsandr Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda of Russia were second in 1:53.14, followed by Cory Butner and Chuck Berkeley of the US in 1:53.15.
OLYMPICS
Putin skis at Sochi
Russian President Vladimir Putin polished his action-man credentials on Friday by skiing in Sochi on the first day of a visit to the host city of the Winter Olympic Games opening in a month. The leader donned a black ski-suit along with Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev for a run close to a complex that will be used for downhill and biathlon competitions in the Olympics.
BASKETBALL
Libya releases US players
Libyan authorities have released two Americans detained by the army in the violence-hit city of Benghazi, the basketball club they played for said on Friday. The two had been in Libya contracted to al-Hilal basketball club. Club president Salah al-Fetouri said the army had detained them because they had questioned what they were doing at night on a campus normally closed for non-students.
SKI JUMPING
Takanashi has fourth win
Sara Takanashi of Japan extended her domination of the women’s ski jump World Cup on Friday by earning her fourth straight victory to start the season, underlining her status as the overwhelming favorite for the Sochi Olympics. Takanashi landed jumps of 99m and 96.5m for a total of 232.6 points at the night event in Russia, where she hopes to become the sport’s first female Olympic champion next month when women’s ski jumping makes its debut in Sochi. So far, she has been unbeatable this season — although Carina Vogt of Germany came close on Friday. Vogt had longer jumps in both rounds, but received lower marks from the judges to finish 0.9 points behind in second place. Irina Avvakumova of Russia was third, 7.4 points behind.
SOCCER
Confusion on Cup warm-ups
Confusion reigned for two World Cup finalists on Friday with Cameroon announcing a warm-up against Argentina on June 6 that the South Americans later denied, instead confirming a friendly with Slovenia a day later. Guillermo Tofoni, whose World Eleven agency organizes all Argentina’s friendlies, said they would play their last warm-up against the Slovenians at the River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires on June 7. He denied Argentina would meet Cameroon in a friendly before the Brazil finals. Apart from the Slovenia game, Lionel Messi’s team will play Trinidad and Tobagoat a venue yet to be settled, in preparation for their Group F matches against Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria.
CRICKET
Dhaka Asia Cup to proceed
Asia’s cricket chiefs yesterday said violence-plagued Bangladesh would remain the venue for next month’s Asia Cup and added Afghanistan as the fifth team in the regional one-day tournament. “The tournament will go ahead as scheduled in Dhaka from Feb. 25 to March 7,” Asian Cricket Council chief executive Ashraful Huq said after an executive board meeting in Colombo. Afghanistan will join India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the 50-over tournament, Huq added.
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
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